Mother Wants Drug Treatment

A woman who disappeared with her infant daughter after smoking crack cocaine in early May, setting off an Amber Alert, asked a judge Wednesday to place her on house arrest until a bed becomes available at an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga postponed a decision about Karen Grimes' case until next week. Labarga wanted to make sure Grimes, 29, would not be around the baby, 5-month-old Brooke Lynn, who had been living with Grimes' mother, Bernadine Grimes, in Palm Beach Gardens. On Wednesday, a family court judge placed the baby in the custody of her father, Joe Ward, defense attorney John Riordan said.

Grimes and Brooke Lynn were missing for two days before police located them at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Singer Island on May 7. The baby tested positive for cocaine, according to Assistant State Attorney Moira Lasch, and the prescription painkiller Lorcet was found in the baby carrier. Grimes faces up to 15 years in prison on charges of child abuse, child neglect and possession of hydrocodone.

The search for Brooke Lynn began on May 7, two days after Karen Grimes, who had been smoking crack cocaine, disappeared in her minivan with the crying baby. Ward told police that he argued with Grimes days earlier about her drug use.

The prosecutor opposed Grimes' release, saying she's an admitted Oxycontin and cocaine addict who could easily have access to the baby.

Grimes' spirits are low, but she knows she needs help, Bernadine Grimes said while holding a smiling Brooke Lynn. She's also caring for her daughter's 6- and 8-year-old children from another relationship.

Karen Grimes graduated from Palm Beach Gardens High School and worked in accounting, according to her mother.

"She worked hard and gave her kids everything," she said. "There's consequences to everything and she's willing to do whatever it takes to get her kids back."

Missy Stoddard can be reached at mstoddard@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.